Pro sports and politics in New England long ago made futile local novelistic efforts. Put the story of Boston’s mayor from jail, James Michael Curley (1874-1958), in the hands of a fine journalist and you get an epic tragedy, The Rascal King. Give it to a novelist and you get the pallid, but brilliantly titled, The Last Hurrah.

The nature of corporations, of which Boston pro sports organisations are the apotheosis (‘Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls!’), is to socialise costs and privatise profits. When either end of the proposition turns less favorable – especially in a declining city, the team does a Robert Irsay: circles the semis and lights out for a new stadium.

Since we’re pretty sure of the answer to that question, we must ask is there anything in this for us?

To which I yell, ‘Yes!’

We can assure that the stadium honors the man who made Providence a destination location – at least from Pawtucket. A politician who, in an age of mumbling technocrats, spoke clearly and acted forcefully, if feloniously. A mayor in the mold of McCoy Stadium’s Thomas P. McCoy.